On November 30 we enter into the season of Advent. I grew up in a Lutheran church so Advent anticipation is an integral part of awaiting Christ’s birth for me.
Advent marks the beginning of the church’s spiritual year. That …
In Honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, A Favorite Read of Mine
In January 2023, I wrote the blog post below to proclaim my favorite read from 2022. I still recall this nonfiction book with fondness and respect–fondness for its exquisite writing and respect for the portrayal of how Indigenous peoples see …
In Honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, A Favorite Read of MineRead More
Deadline Mishaps
I’m observing authors becoming less and less concerned about making any deadline they committed to in their contracts. Here is a case in point.
One of my clients casually mentioned to another client of mine that she had never made …
Proposal Challenge: The Competition Section
Recently I was interviewed on one of my client’s podcasts, PastorWriter, with Chase Replogle. We talked about the challenge of writing a winning proposal. Chase and I, along with Barb Roose, are currently working on Chase’s proposal so during the …
Remembering Loved Ones
As I considered what to write about on this Memorial weekend, my memory floated back to the year my brother and I muddled our way through May gift-giving. That May was the first year we were old enough to consider …
Audio Book Growth
For 12 consecutive years, audio books have seen double-digit growth. No other book format can make that claim. But why should we, as writers and readers, care about audio book growth?
Putting audio book growth in perspective
Before we look …
Presidents as Readers (and Writers)
In honor of Presidents’ Day, it occurred to me that it would be fun for us to learn a bit about our presidents as readers.I learned, as I did a bit of research, that many of our presidents were poorly …
Favorite Book in 2024
For several years running I’ve written a post about my reading experiences through the year. I offer up what I consider to be my favorite book. For 2024, I didn’t have many contenders.
Oh, I’ve read several books I enjoyed …
The Reader-Writer Bond
When a reader picks her next book, she unwittingly creates a bond with the author. And when a writer decides to create a book, he unwittingly forms a bond with the reader. This reader-writer bond is powerful–and meaningful to both …
De-stress Your Publishing Life
Publishing is a high-stress world–not just for those who work at a publishing house but also for authors, agents, and free-lancers of all stripes. It’s an odd mix of all the ordinary business aspects of finances, project management, and sales, …